Sinking In Quicksand
by Midnight113
Summary: Troy was supposed to be helping his best friend Gabriella clean out the garage in preparation for a tag sale and had agreed to help days ago. Only problem is, he's ignoring her. Oneshot.


**Sinking In Quicksand © Midnight113 **

**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or have any affiliation to it.**

**Synopsis:**

**Troy was supposed to be helping his best friend Gabriella clean out the garage in preparation for a tag sale and had agreed to help days ago. Only problem is, he's not talking to her. Oneshot.**

**_A warning to all potential thieves, this work is copyright 2011 Midnight113._** **_Sinking In Quicksand is completely the work and property of Midnight113, to reproduce under any other name is theft!_**

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**Sinking In Quicksand**

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"Stupid Troy and his stupid moodiness." Gabriella spoke through clenched teeth while moving boxes in and out of the enclosed two car garage that was currently home to all her family's junk.

"Stupid pack rat parents that never throw anything away and just let it accumulate in the garage so that they can have their only daughter clean it out for a tag sale when she gets grounded for staying out to late with said best friend." Gabriella continued ranting to herself and the squirrels currently residing on the second story of the garage, as she picked up another box and proceeded carrying it outside to sort it later.

On the way she tripped and stumbled, almost falling face first on the pavement which resulted in a strand of cuss words leaving her mouth. As she regained her balance, she simply dropped the box and let it fall to the ground while she sighed.

Deciding to take a break, she plopped down next to the box and crossed her legs while letting a whoosh of air escape from her mouth. It was slightly humid out so Gabriella didn't have to worry about zipping up her jacket to keep her warm.

She instead took the time to assess her surroundings. She was currently sitting at the end of her driveway, it was dark outside now and the only light illuminating her was coming from the inside of the garage that was attached to a two story colonial.

She studied the blue color of the siding and stared at the front porch light that had attracted several interesting looking moths and insects from the warm glow. Tilting her head she looked out over the dead street. They lived on the very end of a cul-de-sac so there was never any traffic and their yard was so big that the closest neighbor was so far in the distance and crowded by lush trees and bushes, she could barely make out any lights. There was one streetlamp on the road and all it did was flicker neon so it did little to help Gabriella.

She was bored, angry and confused. Today had been interesting to say the least. She leaned back on her hands and listened to the noisy crickets chirping, helping to relax her thoughts as a fresh breeze blew her hair back. Today's events had surprised Gabriella and left her pissed off at her best friend or she should say, ex-best friend Troy Bolton.

Troy and Gabriella had know each other since she was eleven and he was twelve. The Bolton family had just moved in down the street and Gabriella's parents felt it would be proper to introduce their family personally. So Gabriella and Troy found themselves in his backyard, putting up his new basketball hoop.

This resulted in Troy trying to show Gabriella how to play the sport he loved so much. The game ended abruptly with both players laughing their heads off when Gabriella completely missed the hoop by four feet. Troy, being the teenage boy that he was, made fun of her and she just stuck her tongue out at him using the fact that she was a girl as her defense. Needless to say, they had been best friends ever since.

As they got older, their bond only strengthened. Gabriella was now sixteen and since Troy was only a year older, they both attended the same school. East High located in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Troy would always pick her up and drive her to school but today had been different, he had been different. They seldom ever fought so this was new territory and Gabriella was seething just thinking about it.

* * *

"_Gotta go, Troy's here."_

"_Alright sweetheart, have a good day at school!" Gabriella's mother, Maria Montez, yelled from the kitchen as Gabriella skyrocketed out the door, barely replying in a quick monotone, "I'll try."_

_She raced down the sidewalk, towards the driveway where a beat up white truck was sitting idling. She could make out his appearance through the windshield and smiled at the baseball cap on his head, while his arm was hanging halfway out the window. Gabriella noticed he had a toothpick in his mouth and a contemplative look on his face as she opened the door and was greeted with the radio blasting and of course the stale smell of a locker room. Troy always kept his gym bag in the back seat equipped with deodorant, cologne and a pair of workout clothes. _

_She quickly settled in, throwing her school bag over her left shoulder and buckling up. Once she was all set, she turned to her best friend with a bright smile and greeted him enthusiastically. "Hi Troy!"_

_Troy, on the other hand did something she had never witnessed him do. He didn't look at her, simply nodded and said very quietly "Hey." As he reached forward to turn the dial to the radio higher in volume if that was even possible._

_Gabriella was shocked and just a little insulted. What kind of greeting was that? Did she do something to piss him off? After a minute of just listening to the blaring music, Gabriella inhaled and flung her hand forward, successfully turning off the music. _

"_HEY!" Troy yelled going to turn it back on, "Never touch a man's radio." Before his hand could reach the knob, she swatted it away. _

_After a few more attempts, he realized his actions were futile and focused on driving. So they sat there in an awkward silence, which was getting on Gabriella's nerves. They had never been this tense around each other so she decided to break it. _

"_You okay?" _

"_Yup."_

_Well that was helpful. Why are guys such pin heads sometimes. _

"_What's up?"_

"_The sky." He continued in his monotone voice._

_Gabriella scoffed at that, "Original Troy. Try again."_

"_Nothing, I'm fine." He replied in a dull tone._

_Gabriella shrugged it off, thinking he would tell her eventually but she became curious despite herself when the ten minute ride became too uncomfortable for her. _

"_Troy what's wrong? You're never this quiet."_

"_I said it was nothing Gabriella, just drop it." Came his stern voice as they pulled up to a traffic light. _

_He never called her Gabriella, she couldn't count on one hand how many times he had. When they were younger he had complained about her name being too long so he shortened it to Gabi, thus giving her a nickname she had grown very fond of. It was foreign for her to hear her name come from his lips instead of the one he had given her. She knew then that something major must have been bothering him. _

"_Troy, you know you can talk to me about whatever it is that's bothering you right? I'm here to help, I'm your best friend remember?"_

"_Yeah…" He got very quiet as he stepped on the gas when the light turned green and barely whispered, "I remember." _

_Gabriella was taken aback by his behavior and didn't try hiding the hurt that flashed across her face. _

"_Did I do something? Because I'm really confused right now, why are you acting like this Wildcat?" She decided that maybe by using her nickname for him, he would respond to her properly, the way she wanted him to instead of all the one word answers._

_Troy's hands visibly tightened on the steering wheel, the whiteness of his knuckles evident as he pulled into the school and silently parked the car in the space closest to the door. He took in a deep breath and then exhaled it, sighing quietly afterward. _

"_No, it's not you Gabi. I'm sorry, I just had a bad weekend that's all."_

_Finally she was getting some answers and he was acting normal for once. _

"_What happened, did you get into a fight with your dad again?"_

"_No, Sharpay actually." He looked up out the window, still avoiding eye contact with Gabriella as he searched the crowds of kids running to make it into the building and find their lockers before the bell rang. _

"_That would have been my next guess." Gabriella smiled a little when she saw the corner of Troy's mouth lift up just a tad before it disappeared again. _

"_So what was it about?" She started, trying to get a response out of him and hopefully an explanation for his weird behavior in the truck that morning._

"_Nothing, it's no big deal Gabs. I'll just talk to her later about it, no worries."_

"_Why won't you tell me what's wrong, maybe I can help?" She whispered the last part to him, pleading for him to confide in her like he always had. Why did it feel like their friendship had changed in the span of twelve hours. _

"_You can't, if I can't figure it out you definitely can't. Just drop it Gabs."_

"_But Troy, I've always helped you with your problems. If you would just tell me what was said, then we could go from there."_

"_This isn't something you can help me with Gabriella, I have to figure this one out for my own. Just stop sticking your nose in other peoples business alright! Just drop it!" He slammed his fist against the dash board, breathing heavily as he cursed having obviously hurt his hand from his actions. _

_Gabriella was hurt, he had never yelled at her like that and he had used her full name twice in five minutes. She felt small and weak and most of all, like she didn't know her best friend anymore. _

_Not being one to be treated so cruelly, she opened the passenger door and reacted the only way she knew how when she was upset. By treating him just as badly._

"_Fine you jackass, be that way. I didn't want to help you anyway and I hope you and Sharpay never fix whatever the hell is going on between you. Just do me a favor and leave me the fuck alone Troy Bolton, for good." She slammed the door in his face once she had gathered up her belongings and didn't look back. _

_As she stomped across the parking lot, garnering the stares and whispers of her fellow classmates, she pretended to not hear the pained sound of her name that vibrated off of the stucco as she opened the school door and rushed inside. It wasn't until after the door slammed shut behind her and echoed throughout the crowded halls, that she felt the liquid in her eyes become more prominent and ultimately leak slowly down one cheek as she disappeared into the bathroom. _

* * *

Feeling that her break was over, Gabriella raised to her feet and turned back towards the garage. All the while, dodging the pile of boxes and mix mash of items obstructing her path. She tried not to focus on her thoughts of Troy Bolton and his obscure behavior earlier that day but that wouldn't stop her from being pissed she was left to do all the work that he had promised he would help her with. After all, most of this junk didn't just belong to her family but was in fact both Troy and Gabriella's.

While digging through a box on the floor, a object behind a container caught her eye. As she approached, a smile tugged at her lips when she noticed what it was. A plastic sword.

A memory was instantly triggered when she lifted the toy into her hand. Troy dressed as a pirate, and eye patch on his left eye and a musket in hand. Gabriella dressed in a similar costume purchased at a Halloween store as they battled each other to the death. She sighed at their swashbuckling days and couldn't help the giggle that escaped her lips.

She pondered whether or not to attempt to relive their childhood fantasy, what the heck. No harm to it, she decided. Lifting the plastic toy into the air, she swung it back and forth and then turned around to find a target. She set her eyes on an old bike and lunged forward at it, "Take that ye beastly varmint." She recited in perfect pirate tongue.

"Impressive sword skills you've got there Gabi."

Almost tripping on herself, Gabriella swirled on her feet to stare at the intruder who interrupted her fantasy.

Her eyes widened at the sight before her, Troy Bolton leaning carelessly against the archway of the garage door with a smirk on his face. The little light provided from the garage accentuating his features perfectly. Suddenly she felt like a fool, being caught red-handed acting like an idiot. She couldn't stop the tint of pink from rising to her cheeks and setting fire to her skin as the sword in her hand fell to her side.

She watched warily as her best friend stepped forward into the garage and grabbed the other sword that was lying on the ground next to where Gabriella had found hers. He lifted it into the air and twirled it, almost making it look effortless.

His cobalt blue eyes lifted to hers for the first time that day and she could see the sign of regret and sadness sitting deep beneath those pools of blue. She instantly felt a pang of guilt for what she had said to him earlier but she wasn't going to let him off the hook so easily.

"On guard." She shouted, immediately back into character.

He gave her an amused look and tilted his head to the side just barely as he lifted the sword into place, a bright smirk on his face.

"You don't know what you're getting yourself into."

"Neither do you." Gabriella replied as she lunged and he parried.

"Don't you remember, I always won at this game." He smiled as they continued to dance around the confined space of the garage, being careful to avoid the boxes and loose junk scattered all around them.

"Well now it's time for me to deflate your ego just a bit wouldn't you say?" She countered.

"I like my ego right where it is Gabi but thank you anyway for the offer." Their plastic swords clanked against each other as Troy miraculously pinned hers against a box, forcing her to drop it.

Now she stood unarmed and literally out in the open.

"Looks like it's over for you princess, there's no where to run. I win." He taunted in his sexy, husky voice as he took a step near her.

Never one for giving up so easily, Gabriella smiled at Troy and watched a confused look cross his face as she flung an old book past his head, causing a distraction as she sprinted behind a tower of boxes. It was dark and musty where she stood, a perfect hiding place.

Peering between a crack to see where Troy had gone, she sighed in relief not noticing him anywhere and as she turned around she let out a shriek as he cupped her mouth with his palm.

He leaned forward and smiled at her, "You cheated."

Gabriella did the only thing she could do as his palm remained over her mouth, she stuck her tongue out and licked it, successfully getting him to remove it.

"Aw, eww, foul!" Troy was caught off guard and wiped his hand on his low riding jeans as Gabriella made a run for it to the door of the garage. "Hey get back here." He ran around the box tower and scooped her up as she arrived at the door. Lifting her up in the air as she screamed and giggled, Troy softly planted her back on her feet and turned her around.

"No licking." He scolded as he pointed in her face and wagged his finger at her.

"I had no choice, you cornered me. It was the only way to defend myself."

"Yeah well, now I have to punish you."

"Ooh, I'm so scared."

"Well you should be, prepare yourself Princess Gabi." Troy stuck both his hands out slowly and then without giving her time to flee, grabbed her by the sides and tickled her.

Gabriella shrieked in surprise, she hated being tickled. It was her one weakness that he had discovered when they were kids on the basketball court. "Trooyyyy! Stop…stop, you win!" She laughed harder as he persisted with the tickling and she grabbed his hands to stop him. "Enough, I'll do whatever you ask just please… you're killing me."

Troy's hands immediately stopped their torment as he looked pensively at the ground.

"Anything?" He whispered as his eyes caught hers.

"Well, within reason Wildcat."

"Will you forgive me?" He asked quietly, looking into her irises.

Gabriella was silent for a moment, studying his face and realizing just how much he had changed over the years from the little, immature boy she once knew into this still immature young man. She grinned at the thought of it and yet one thing had always remained constant, their friendship.

"I'll think about it." She finally responded, "But only, if you tell me what happened between you and Sharpay." She finished.

"You weren't going to make it easy were you?"

"Nope," She smiled and shook her head back and forth like a little kid. "I want my full fledged apology. Complete with sword fighting, garage cleaning, you pleading on your knees for forgiveness and an explanation for your actions.

Troy sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"I never could say no to you."

"I was counting on that." She gave him a smirk and walked over to one of the boxes she had piled outside the garage. She began digging through it, pulling out little odds and ends. Different toys she use to play with and a pair of Hawaiian leis. "Ooh, pretty." She said while putting the colorful, plastic loop around her neck.

Finally she pulled out her princess hat complete with streamers and a long, see-through veil.

"Awesome, I've been looking everywhere for this." She laughed and placed it on her head, assuming the role of Princess Gabi. "And now Sir Bolton, bow before me and beg for your life."

"You're getting just a tad too into this Gabs."

"I said bow!" She mockingly shouted for dramatic effect.

"Alright, alright yeesh." Troy bowed in front of her as gracefully as possible and then took up residency at her feet, kneeling. "This is the part where you say 'off with his head'." Troy spoke halfheartedly while rolling his eyes.

"Hush." Gabriella grabbed the fake shield in the box and handed it to her friend. "Here, hold this." Troy took the shield and raised and eyebrow at her.

"What? It'll make it more believable for me." She explained while shrugging her shoulders and regained her composure. "Now, Sir Bolton, explain yourself."

"Um… well you see this is what happened." Troy stopped himself and sighed again in defeat. "Okay so, I was over at Sharpay's house last night and we were talking."

"Among other things I'm sure." Gabriella cut in with a hint of disgust coming from her voice.

"Do you want to hear this or not?" Troy looked up at her, his eyebrows furrowed.

"Sorry, continue." She waved her hand in the air like royalty and settled back on a pile of boxes as if they were her thrown.

"Okay so, we were talking and she asked me how my day was as usual and I told her about how you and me went to this awesome basketball game the other day and I went on about how I wish she would do things like that with me. Instead of making me go with her to the mall so we can shop for clothes and I can watch her get a pedicure."

"That was a mistake, you shouldn't have said it like that Troy."

"Yeah, well I did because it's true. What's wrong with her doing one thing for me when I go around and do all these things that she likes with her."

"Go on…" Gabriella motioned with her hand again.

"So I said that, I wish she was more like you."

"Oh bad move." Gabriella playfully commented.

"Tell me about it, she went crazy after that. Sharpay went into this big speech about me and you being best friends and how it's hard for her to compete with that and then she…" Troy stopped talking and stood up so he was now on his feet in front of his best friend.

"What? She what? Don't just leave me hanging like that Bolton, what did she say?"

He sighed again and shifted on his feet. "She told me that if I was so in love with you, then I should be with you not her." Troy finished quickly and kept his focus on his black vans.

Gabriella was speechless. What the heck, in love with her? Why would Sharpay believe that? Troy and Gabriella were only ever friends, nothing more.

Then, after a minute of silence between them, a snicker was heard. Troy looked up quickly at where the sound had emitted from. Gabriella was doing all she could to contain her laughter but finally it had broken free. She gave out a hardy laugh and almost snorted, almost but the tears in her eyes from the pressure were clouding her vision as she bowled over from laughing so hard.

"That's the funniest thing I've ever heard!" She proclaimed loudly, "She thinks you love me? Wow, that's hilarious. I mean I knew she had something wrong with her, come on no one wears that much pink but this really takes the cake."

Troy was just silently staring at her the whole time she went through her laughing fit. "Come on Troy, why aren't you laughing about this?" As Gabriella began to calm down she wiped a loose tear from her eye and smiled towards her friend.

"I um… didn't think you'd find it so… amusing." Troy trailed off.

"Well what did you say to her, you told her we're just best friends right?" Gabriella had stopped laughing now and was looking at Troy with a serious expression on her face. Why wasn't he laughing? "Troy?"

"Huh, oh yeah, yeah. I handled it. Don't worry about it." He stuck his hands in his pockets and looked out over the yard, ignoring Gabriella's presence once again as he was clearly deep in thought.

"Wait a minute here Wildcat. I know you, there's something else bothering you. You're suppose to find this just as funny as I do and yet you're not laughing at all." Gabriella was piecing the puzzle together as quickly as she could. "So what's wrong, what's the real reason why you weren't talking to me today?" She waited patiently for him to respond but he just continues to look past her shoulder out at the street light that continued to ominously flicker in the night.

"Gabi, did you ever stop and consider that maybe she's right?"

Gabriella's eyebrows shot up at his words. What was he talking about? Was Troy Bolton admitting that what Sharpay had said was true?

"What? Troy, what are you talking about? We're friends, best friends. It's always been that way, nothing's going to change."

"Did you ever think that maybe it could?" Troy's eyes shot to her chocolate ones, piercing with his gaze and searching for an answer to his question.

"I…" She was speechless. Sure she had a crush on the guy years ago, It was only natural to want something you can't have but he would never look at her as a possible candidate for a girlfriend. He never had showed interest in her then, so what had changed.

"Damn it Gabriella, can't you just answer the question?"

"Troy, we're friends. You've never once-"

"I've always had a thing for you, whether or not you noticed it. You're my best friend Gabriella, no girl can come close to you, no girl an do to me what you do." Troy was breathing heavily now and approaching her slowly. "That's why I broke up with Sharpay this morning."

"You... what?" Gabriella stuttered.

She was starting to feel the earthquake in her stomach, feelings she had once buried into the back of her mind and heart were opening up and resurfacing again. What was he doing to her?

"Troy, you don't know what your saying. You love Sharpay, you guys are perfect for each other you're the golden couple, everyone loves you!" She exclaimed exasperated.

Troy just chuckled at her, the nerve of him.

"Troy I'm serious, what's gotten into you?" She backed up a little bit and hit the tower of boxes she had been leaning against. Troy suddenly was directly in front of her, caging her in and smiling like fool at the current predicament. "Looks like you're in a tight spot again Gabi, what are you gonna do about it?" He mocked her as the shivers in her body, intensified.

He grabbed onto her wrists and pulled them over her head, his face moving closer to hers. His lips just inches from her own. "Trapped like a rat, I win… again."

He smirked just as he dipped his head and nipped playfully at her neck, causing Gabriella to moan slightly by his actions. He looked up at her, the fringe from his hair falling into his eyes just a bit but the smile was evident on his face as he stared into her eyes.

"You are just full of yourself tonight aren't you Wildcat?"

"Ugh, and you wonder why I can't continue to have platonic feelings for you." Troy whispered as he leaned his head down and sucked on her collar bone, directly next to her clavicle.

"What, what did I say?" She barely got out as he pulled the collar to her shirt over and nipped, pressing a gentle kiss to her shoulder blade.

"The things you do to me Gabi." He trailed off as he continued to press kisses to her shoulder and suck on her neck, happy that she hadn't pushed him away yet. "So are we friends again?" He asked her while continuing his ministrations.

"This looks like a lot more than friendship and besides, I just said that to hurt you the same way you hurt me." She spoke with as much control as she could while getting the words past her lips.

"Hmm, it worked." Troy husked against her skin.

"Troy this is a bad idea…" She began as a moan escaped past her lips again when he hit a pleasurable spot on her neck.

"Humph, you're wrong baby. Best idea I've had all day."

Gabriella was caught off guard again by his term of endearment. That was new, and she admitted she liked hearing it.

"Troy, I'm serious. We're going to get in trouble."

"Live on the wild side for once Gabi, I know you want to." He moved his head and wiggled his eyebrows twice to entice her.

"You're impossible, I can't believe we're doing this." She wrapped her arms around his neck and racked her hands through his rugged hair, she pushed against him a little to get his attention and when he detached his lips from her skin and looked down, he knew she was giving in.

"I can." He whispered as their heads tilted closer and their lips neared.

"Well, well, well. What have he got here!"

Troy and Gabriella suddenly sprang apart so fast that it was a blur. As they turned to look at the source of the voice, they blushed.

Chad was standing at the end of the driveway with his arms crossed over his chest, a wide smirk on his face and Taylor was next to him laughing along with Kelsi, Martha, Jason and Zeke.

"What did I tell you? I knew they liked each other as more than just friends. Jason, you owe me twenty bucks man, pay up!" Chad shouted at his friend who begrudgingly handed over the cash.

"What are you talking about, we weren't doing anything. Just talking that's all." Gabriella was quick to deny it for hopes of saving any ounce of dignity she had left.

"Oh sure, Gabriella. Everyone talks with just their lips, but don't worry, we won't tell." He winked in her direction dramatically.

"Ah, stuff it Danforth. What are you all doing here anyway?" Troy inquired with a raised eyebrow.

"What, the Gabster didn't tell you? I'm shocked, completely shocked and insulted- OW!"

"Shut it Chad." Taylor stated after smacking her friend in the gut and walked forward out of the group. "Gabriella called earlier saying you weren't talking to her and bailed on helping with garage detail so we came to help." Taylor explained.

Troy looked over at Gabriella and she smiled brightly at the realization, "Oh yeah, I forgot. Sorry." She mumbled to Troy and then turned around heading into the garage, the girls following her.

"We've got to get the rest of this junk organized before eleven and it's already eight-thirty guys."

"Alright then, let's do this!" Chad pumped his fist in the air in hopes of getting everyone enthusiastic but then Zeke and Jason just snickered at him so he nudged them in the rib cage, "Hey shut up, I don't see you guys helping."

"Oh we'll help alright, when Taylor tells us what to do. Go ahead Taylor, you're the brains here." Zeke throw in his two cents and ducked out of the way of Chad's hand that was about to collide with his stomach. "Dude, chill out." Jason laughed.

"Thank you Zeke, the rest of you boys should learn from him." Taylor then began instructing each of the girls on what to do to make the cleaning process easier. She turned to the guys and got Jason and Chad to begin moving and furniture in the garage out onto the driveway so they could get at the boxes in the back.

All the while Troy watched Gabriella, smiling and laughing with their friends as she attempted to assist in moving the bookcase.

"Hey Bolton, stop making googly eyes at Montez and get back to work." Troy scowled in the direction of his best friend Chad who fluttered his eyelashes for added effect.

"Piss off man." Troy sent him one last glare as Chad gripped his chest in fake pain.

"Ouch, that burns right here dude." Chad laughed and walked off back to assist in moving another piece of furniture.

Troy rolled his eyes and continued on opening boxes and inspecting their contents. When he got to the last box at the bottom, he was pleasantly surprised at what he found. Troy slowly looked up and found Gabriella sitting on a bike giving out orders playfully to Chad who continued to whine about what a pain in the ass she was being making them move things back and forth. Troy couldn't contain his smirk as he looked back into the box.

* * *

"Alright guys, a little to the left. No wait, stop. You're going to hit the boxes. Turn it more to the right. Yup, that's it." Gabriella made hand gestures as she tried to direct Chad and Jason properly while they moved the bookcase past the boxes and out of the garage.

"Gabs, you're not helping." Chad barely grunted out, his tone clearly holding disdain.

"Silence Chad, never insult the princess." Gabriella mocked as Chad and Jason barely tripped over another box that Taylor and Zeke were in the process of going through.

Chad grumbled something in reply but was to quiet for Gabriella to hear. Jason's teeth clenched as he regained his balance and hissed at the weight of the object in his hands.

"What was that Chad?" Gabriella perked an eyebrow up and leaned forward so she could hear him better.

"I said, maybe the princess would like to do some of the work herself for once instead of sitting around practicing her dictatorship skills."

"Oooh, big words Chad. I thought you slept during history?" Gabriella mocked her friend.

"You know what, I don't appreciate my intelligence being questioned. Just because I nod off sometimes doesn't mean I don't do the homework."

"Yeah right, you know you have Taylor help you with the homework Chad." Gabriella laughed at the look on his face.

"Alright, that's it." Chad carefully set his side of the bookcase down on the floor to the garage as Jason was left standing still holding his side.

"Uh oh." Gabriella's eyes popped out at Chad's ever increasing approach. As quickly and gracefully as possible, Gabriella jumped off the bike she was sitting on and darted past Kelsi and Martha hopping over the strew of old school work and books they had piled next to their box on the floor.

Gabriella ran out of the garage in search of Troy who she had last seen out in the driveway looking through boxes. She stopped and looked around but didn't see him anywhere.

She gasped out loud as Chad's arms wrapped around her middle and lifted her into the air, causing her to lose her breath.

"Gotcha you little stinker, now apologize." Chad demanded.

"Never!" Gabriella squealed in protest. "I'm the princess, I don't have to do anything!" She rationalized.

"Tell me I'm smart."

"You're not! You're a big dufus." Gabriella laughed.

"Oh, you are so dead." Chad placed her down and was just about to put her in a headlock with his arm and give her a noogie but before he could execute the move, Troy jumped out of the bushes and pointed a laser gun at him.

"Unhand the princess you fowl demon!" Troy aimed his laser gun at Chad's chest and fired, the infrared beam produced a firing sound effect and did nothing else but glow in silence on Chad's black t-shirt. The three friends just stared and then burst out laughing.

"You idiot, it's not going to work unless I'm wearing one of the target straps." Chad pointed out as he unhanded Gabriella and moved forward. "Here, let me see." Chad grasped the laser gun and fired it at Troy's chest, successfully causing a loud beeping nose to emit from the little box Troy had strapped to his chest signaling that the target had been hit.

Gabriella's face brightened when the device beeped and she jumped in the air clapping her hands together. "Ooh oh, I want to play laser tag! Pick me, pick me!" She waved her arm in the air like a child.

"Hold off Gabs, is there enough for three? Cause I want to play too. It's perfect out right now for this." Chad stated.

Troy walked over to the box he had found the toys in earlier and pulled out three more guns and targeting straps. "Here, there's enough for four of us." He informed them while handing them each a gun and strap.

"Awesome, this is gonna be so cool." Gabriella didn't bother hiding her enthusiasm as she efficiently placed the targeting device around her waist and neck while adjusting and buckling it. "Alright, I'm good." She looked up to see Chad having a little difficulty with adjusting his strap and she rolled her eyes while walking over to assist him. "Oh yeah, you're so smart." She commented playfully as he pouted.

"Hey now, it's not my fault these things were made for little waists like yours. Excuse me for being a growing boy." He pounded his chest proudly at that.

After Gabriella scoffed and fixed Chad's band, she looked over at Troy who now had a wide smile on his face.

"Okay, we still have enough for one more player."

At this statement, Jason casually walked over to them from the garage having watched the whole scene between Chad and Gabriella earlier after they abandoned him with the bookcase.

"You know, I should rat the three of you out for being out here playing games instead of working hard like the rest of us are doing. I bet Taylor wouldn't be too happy about that now would she?" Jason commented playfully with a quirked eyebrow.

"Oh come on man, we didn't mean to leave everyone it's just that we came out here and then Troy starting shooting at me and - OOF -" Chad was cut off by Gabriella's hand slapping him in the stomach. "What is it with you girls abusing me?" He whined.

Gabriella just rolled her eyes. "What Chad's trying to say is, Jas would you like to play with us? We have a spare set." Gabriella didn't even have to finish her sentence as Jason grabbed the gun and flung the strap over his head.

"Well, since you insist." He said nonchalantly while shrugging his shoulders.

"Alright." Troy was now in commander mode. "Listen up, these are the rules. Gabi, you and Chad are team afro. You're against team cool, that's us." Troy pointed at himself and Jason for clarification purposes.

"Why can't we be team cool?" Gabriella questioned with anger as Chad folded his arms and nodded his head in affirmation.

"Because, you're already team afro." Troy explained his reasoning with a smirk.

"Humph. I'll let you get away with your insolence this time." She informed Troy.

"Ha ha, of course you will Gabi. Now on the count of three, we split up into the yard and the person who's left standing at the end is the winning team. Got it?"

"Affirmative sir." Chad saluted and the others nodded.

"Alright, on the count of three. One… two… hey!" Before he could finish, Chad and Gabriella bolted out of the driveway and through a bush, disappearing into the dark. "Cheaters!" Troy yelled after them as he faintly heard the reply of 'suck it' shouted back at him.

* * *

After about fifteen minutes of running around in the dark yard and shooting at each other, Gabriella now found herself crouched down behind the oak tree in her backyard. So far, there had been two casualties and one friendly fire which happened when Gabriella couldn't tell who she was shooting at and ended up giving away Chad's position near the mailbox. This resulted in Jason shooting Chad out of the game and Gabriella shooting at Jason.

Now, it was just her and Troy. She was breathing heavily, constantly checking the dark yard for any movement. She heard rustling from behind and turned quickly, her gun at the ready. After a few seconds, she realized it was just the wind. Or a very large animal. She shivered slightly and peaked around the tree once more. She squinted her eyes trying to better improve her sight but it did nothing to help her.

A few minutes passed and Gabriella decided she had stayed in one spot too long. Taking one big breath, she stood from her crouched position and pushed off the tree, sprinting towards the side of the house.

She moved swiftly and quietly, the only sound was her huffing for air. Then she caught sight of a red dot on the siding of the house in front of her. She had been spotted. She heard Troy fire the gun off but it had missed her as she went into commando mode and dived to the ground. She cursed that she was getting grass stains on her blouse, but this was more important that that. She had to beat him at his own game.

So she crawled on her arms in route to the nearest bush as she continued to listen to him fire off the laser gun in her direction.

"You'll never take me alive!" She yelled across the yard form her position on the ground.

"Way to be dramatic Gabi!" Troy yelled back from somewhere behind her in the dark.

She finally made her way to the bush and remained on her stomach while repositioning her gun so she could look for her target. Looking out over the yard she waited for any sign of movement and then she saw it. A silhouette moving quickly against the side bushes. She took aim and steadied her gun, firing into the night.

The infrared beam on her laser gun lit up Troy's chest as she fired and then a little smirk spread on her face as her beam hit it's intended target, lighting up Troy's chest in the dark and making an obnoxious sound.

"Boo-ya!" She shouted as she jumped up from the bushes and watched Troy's shoulders slump forward form his loss as he sauntered over to her. "I am awesome!" She informed him from the bushes as he stopped in front of her.

"Yeah, yeah. Lucky shot." He waved his hand around as they walked back to the driveway where they found Chad and Jason sitting on a boxes looking worn out.

"So who won?" Chad asked as they approached.

Gabriella's face beamed as she started doing a little dance in the middle of the driveway. "I did." She proclaimed. "I smoked that bitch so bad cause I'm the princess and nobody beats me." She exclaimed happily.

"Yes, team afro won!" Chad yelled out and joined Gabriella in her little victory dance. "Uh huh, we did it, we did it!" He gave a high-five to his team mate and they both stuck their tongues out at Troy and Jason, who were silently staring at them.

"So much for team cool. That's what you get for naming yourselves that." Gabriella mocked as she came over to stand in front of Troy with her hands on her hips.

"Oh please, the only reason you won was because of that weird stealthy commando crawl you were doing. Plus I'm pretty sure I saw you do an army roll in the middle of the yard."

"Ha, what are you jealous?" Gabriella questioned him.

"Psh, no." Troy shook his head.

"I think you are, you hate losing don't you Wildcat?"

Troy remained silent and instead focused an intense stare on Gabriella.

"Hey, where have you guys all been?" Taylor asked as she walked out from the garage.

"Umm… well. You see-" Jason started.

"We were just asking Gabriella here where she wanted the rest of the boxes Tay." Chad smiled innocently as Jason shook his head In agreement.

"Oh I bet you were," She approached Chad and grabbed him by the earlobe, causing him to howl in pain. "Now get your butts back in there and finish helping the rest of us." She shooed both boys into the garage while scolding them, "Honestly, you guys are worse than three year olds." She shook her head disapprovingly while following them.

Troy and Gabriella stood alone in silence watching them disappear.

"So… I guess we better finish up with the garage so your parents can have that tag sale huh?" Troy casually stated while walking over to another box and lifting it.

"Yeah I guess." Gabriella replied quietly, deep in thought.

"Hey Troy." She called out as he went to move into the garage.

"Yeah, Gabi." He looked back over his shoulder as she watched him from the end of the driveway.

"I want my prize." She told him while taking a step closer to his position.

"What?" He asked, quirking his eyebrow curiously.

"My prize for winning. Don't you remember? Whenever we played laser tag as kids, the winner always got a prize at the end." She reminded him while sauntering across the black asphalt in his direction.

"Uh, must have slipped my mind." He stuttered nervously while grinning.

"Sure it did, but since I won, I'm now going to claim said prize."

Troy couldn't move, his feet were rooted to the ground as she stopped just short of him.

Gabriella looked up into his eyes as she reached out to grab the box in his hands and gradually placed it on the ground.

Troy gulped as she moved closer to his face.

"Well, what do you want?" His voice sounded weak and he cursed the affect she had on him.

"A kiss of course." She whispered. "I am a princess after all." She smiled as Troy's eyes bulged.

"Whatever you desire is yours, all you have to do is ask." He informed her after a moment.

"Good, I was hoping you'd say that." She moved closer so that their noses brushed against each other. Troy began leaning down to kiss her cheek and was caught off guard as her lips brushed against the corner of his mouth, just missing his lips.

"Thank you Sir Bolton, now get back to work. Those boxes won't organize themselves you know." She winked and walked off in the direction of the garage, swaying her hips just a little bit to entice him.

Troy just chuckled and ran after her. He nonchalantly cornered Gabriella behind some boxes and brushed his fingers across her face. "This isn't over yet you know, we still have to talk about where things go from here." Troy whispered and before she could reply, he had already stepped out of their corner and walked back over to the gang. Every minute or two, Gabriella would notice Troy look over at her and every time he did, her heart would beat just a little faster. What did she get herself into?

* * *

It was almost midnight as she laid in bed, tired and worn out from the crazy day she had just experienced. She had just changed into her comfortable pajamas which were made up of a flimsy tank top, since it was so hot in her bedroom, and a pair of black boy shorts.

She was stretched out beneath her covers, the only light in the room was provided by the soft glows of moonlight coming in through her shades on the balcony. The room was slightly humid, causing her sleep to be disturbed and so out of aggravation, she flung the covers off of her, nearly missing her sleeping puppy at the end of the bed. She walked to her balcony, unhinging the French doors and pushed them open as a gush of fresh air blew and tussled her hair.

Bandit, her six month old Basset Hound that was notorious for stealing her slippers, blinked up at the new change in the environment.

"Sorry boy, I'm really hot and the breeze feels nice." She felt bad for waking the puppy but smiled as it blinked at her in a daze. Leaving the balcony doors open, she approached her bed again and scratched being the dogs long, silky ears.

"I don't know what to do Bandit, I'm so confused about everything that is Troy Bolton." She sighed and leaned down to kiss the puppy's head and smiled as he attempted in his tired state to lick her face.

"What do you think boy, you think he really is in love with me?"

Bandit looked at her face as she tried to decipher his thoughts and feelings on the matter but alas, he was only a dog.

"I wish you could talk, then you could tell me what to do."

"You know, I could help."

She jumped out of the bed and twirled around towards his voice, "I can talk too, unlike that little guy over there that's only good for listening and giving wet, smelly kisses." Troy mocked as he climbed over the railing and onto the balcony.

"Troy what are you doing here, it's late. I thought you went home an hour ago."

"I did, but I came back. We need to talk Gabriella. I can't just leave this alone, I need to know how you feel."

"Troy, can't this wait until tomorrow. I'm so tired and I'll have a clearer mind in the morning after I get some sleep."

"Nope," He stepped inside the room as he walked over to her nightstand, switching on the purple lamp sitting there. "We're doing this right now." Troy stated very matter of fact as his eyes scanned her practically nude body and he smirked. "Nice pajamas."

"Ugh." Gabriella fell backwards onto her bed and covered her eyes with her arm, trying to block out the light.

She felt the bed dip as Troy sat down next to her, "Hey Bandit, how are ya pal?" Troy gave the puppy a pat on the head and a scratch behind one ear which he gladly accepted but then Bandit grew bored and began to crawl over the covers on the bed and disappeared beneath them back to his slumber land.

"Where you going buddy, come back here." Troy called out to the puppy as it burrowed underneath the covers.

"Bandit might be young but he's smart enough to know that you're here keeping us awake so it's only natural that he ignore you." Gabriella stated, now talking her arm away from her face to get a good look at her friend.

"I feel so used." Troy mocked as he looked over towards Gabriella. He then leaned back on his arms and studied the curves of her face, the glowing aura of her skin. He ran a finger up and down her bare arm as she sighed contently.

"Troy… you're confusing the hell out of me today."

"I thought I was pretty clear actually, I want you." He moved closer and leaned over her body, "I want you, and I want you to want me too." He whispered huskily in her ear.

Gabriella moaned again at the feelings that erupted inside of her, feelings he caused to bubble over inside her stomach and melt away at her heart. And the feeling only skyrocketed as his lips moved over her hot flesh, down the side of her neck to her shoulder then back.

"I have a confession to make." Gabriella stuttered, as his lips slowly removed themselves from her body. "I had a crush on you for two years but I never thought you felt differently towards me so I never did anything about it." She informed him.

"When was this?" He asked.

"When I was fourteen." She said quietly so that he would have to strain to hear her.

"Jeez Gabi, why didn't you say anything?"

"I told you, I didn't think you liked me like that so I didn't bother. I just flung my feelings aside and went on with life as your best friend."

Troy raked a hand through his hair and stayed quiet listening to her.

"Then when Sharpay latched onto you like a leech on an arm, I just figured-"

"You shouldn't have figured anything. You should have told me Gabriella, the only reason I dated her was so I wouldn't have to think about you."

"Oh that's nice, thanks for sharing." Gabriella replied sarcastically as she raised off the bed and walked out onto the balcony.

She leaned against the railing, her hands gripping the wood as she looked up at the night sky. She didn't even react when she felt a presence behind her and suddenly a pair of strong arms were wrapped around her waist and pulling her back into a chest.

"You know what I mean." He whispered. "It was hard for me to be around you and not think of you differently so I let Sharpay take front and center but she was always second and it wasn't fair to her or to you." He finished and kissed her shoulder tenderly.

"Last night, when she made that comment about me loving you and that I should just be with you, I realized, she was absolutely right even if she was just saying it to be dramatic."

Gabriella listened intently, she leaned back more in his embrace and felt safe, happy. She smiled while he went on.

"I know I've always loved you as my best friend but I think, no I know, I love you even more than that Gabi and I'm sorry I was such a jerk to you this morning. She just pissed me off so much because I had finally realized all the time I had wasted with her when I could have been with you."

Gabriella smiled at hearing his words and she tuned in his embrace and looked up into his eyes.

"It's okay Troy. Really." She caressed his cheek with her palm and smiled. "Just don't do it again. I don't like when we fight and I certainly don't like it when you don't tell me what's going on."

"I know, I promise to never intentionally ignore you again." He crossed his fingers together in front of her and gave a sheepish grin.

"You should get home, it's getting late." She informed him, "We've got school tomorrow and you have to pick me up." She turned to walk away and was pulled back by his arms around her waist.

Catching her off guard, Troy smashed his lips against hers, inciting a groan from deep within to emanate from his throat.

Gabriella, completely lost by the turn of events, simply wrapped her arms around Troy and moaned, his tongue pressed against her waiting for an invitation and when it came, he didn't hold back as they gripped each other, fighting for dominance in the kiss.

When they finally pulled back for breath, they both had grins on their faces a mile long.

"Goodnight Gabi and tell Bandit I'm sorry for disturbing his sleep." Troy winked at her.

"Don't worry, I'll tell him it was worth it."

"For you maybe but for him, not so much." Troy laughed.

Gabriella giggled and shoved Troy towards the railing, "Go on, get out of here."

"Yes, ma'am." Troy saluted her and turned to leave.

"Oh and Wildcat." Gabriella called after him.

Troy turned around a smiled at her, "Yeah."

"I always loved you too, even as more than a friend." Gabriella smiled when Troy just grinned at her words.

"I always knew you did." He knew he sounded arrogant but he couldn't help himself.

"You're crazy." She laughed.

"Only about you, Gabi." He grabbed a branch and hauled himself over the railing while blowing kisses in her direction.

"Goodnight Troy. I'll see you tomorrow."

Gabriella shushed him as she listened to Troy belt out a love sonnet as he tumbled down the tree. All the while she couldn't help the smile on her face at this new developing relationship between them, it was better than anything she could have imagined and it was only the beginning.

* * *

**A/N: Yeah, this oneshot was not planned at all, in fact it was very spur of the moment and the laser tag was random but it was fun to write so um... I hope you enjoyed it. My apologies for any grammatical errors as well. Reviews are always appreciated. **


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